Stephen Marcus Movies

V for Vendetta director James McTeigue re-teams with that film's producers Larry and Andy Wachowski for this action-packed tale of a skilled assassin who was trained by a mythical secret society, and patiently awaits the day he will avenge the death of his best friend. Swept off the streets as a young boy, Raizo (Korean pop star Rain) is transformed into an unstoppable killing machine by a secret society known as the Ozunu Clan. The Ozunu Clan is so proficient at keeping their existence a secret that most people think they are only a myth, but the moment Ozuno assassins kill Raizo's friend, their days in the shadows are numbered. In the aftermath of that killing, Raizo stages a daring escape, subsequently biding his time until the day he can take the entire Ozunu Clan down. Later, in Berlin, Europol agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) discovers a money trail connecting multiple political murders to a mysterious network of elusive assassins from the Far East. While her superior Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles) orders Mika to back down and stop asking questions, she stealthily begins searching through classified agency files on a relentless mission to discover the truth about the murders. Singled out as a target as a direct result of her investigation, Mika is marked for death by lethal Ozunu assassin Takeshi (Rick Yune). Just as Mika is about to be silenced forever, Raizo saves her from certain death. But Raizo knows that Takeshi and the rest of the Ozuno Clan won't stop until he and Mika are both dead. Now, as Raizo and Mika are hunted through the winding streets of Europe, their only hope for survival is to trust one another and stay alive long enough to bring the Ozunu empire crumbling to the ground. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

From the mind of bestselling author Terry Pratchet comes this off-the-wall holiday film. In the parallel universe of Discworld, they don't celebrate Christmas. Instead, children look forward to December 32nd, also known as Hogswatchnight, when they'll receive gifts, not from Santa Claus, but from The Hogfather. However, this year, The Hogfather has disappeared, and there may be no Hogswatchnight. So, it's up to Death to assume the role and fulfill all of the children's wishes. Ian Richardson narrates. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi

The true story of two performers whose careers were changed forever by a shift in gender roles on the British stage comes to the screen in this adaptation of the play Compleat Female Stage Beauty by Jeffrey Hatcher. In London, in the latter half of the 17th century, Ned Kynaston (Billy Crudup) is a noted star of the legitimate theater with an unusual specialty -- at a time when it was considered unseemly for women to work as thespians, Kynaston specialized in female roles, and was described by one writer as the most beautiful woman on the London stage. With the help of his faithful dresser, Maria Hughes (Claire Danes), Kynaston can turn himself into a striking actress in front of the footlights, and is starring opposite Thomas Betterton (Tom Wilkinson) in a production of Shakespeare's Othello when, while still in costume after a performance, he is propositioned by theatrical impresario Sir Charles Sedley (Richard Griffiths). The sexually open-minded Sedley isn't discouraged to learn Kynaston is a man, but he is bitterly angered by the actor's flip rejection of his advances. Sedley takes revenge against Kynaston by hiring a gang of criminals to beat him up. With Betterton's production of Othello closed while the leading "lady" recuperates, Hughes sees an opportunity and stages an underground version of the play, casting herself as Desdemona. While she lacks Kynaston's dramatic skills, the daring of her appearance on-stage creates a sensation, and King Charles II (Rupert Everett), a noted theater buff, is so taken with Hughes that he declares women should play women from now on. But as Hughes' star rises, Kynaston's quickly falls, and he becomes a bitter, forgotten man. When the novelty of Hughes' gender wears off and her failings as an thespian become obvious, she turns to her former friend Kynaston, hoping he can teach her to be as good an actress as he was. Stage Beauty's supporting cast includes Ben Chaplin, Edward Fox, and Hugh Bonneville. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Comic and actor Mike Binder wrote, directed, and stars in this romantic comedy. Ben Greene (Binder) is an American comedy writer who moves to London when he's hired to work on a British television series called Tedford Gate. Tedford Gate stars Carly Matthews-Portland (Mariel Hemingway), a once-popular American actress who has found new popularity working in Europe; her husband Allen (Colin Firth), a stereotypically stiff-upper-lipped Englishman, is the producer of the show. As Ben adjusts to life in London, Carly decides to play matchmaker and fixes him up with Fiona Delgrazia (Irene Jacob), a lovely makeup artist from France who works on the show. Ben is quite taken with Fiona, and she with him, but Carly finds herself increasingly intrigued by Ben, while Allen secretly carries a torch for Fiona. Everyone has to take a long look at their increasingly complicated romantic commitments when Fiona takes a job in Italy and Allen wonders if he should follow her; Ben, meanwhile, has written a play and has found a British producer willing to stage it, but when he offers the female lead to Carly, he soon comes to the conclusion he's made a mistake. Londinium also features Stephen Fry, Jack Dee, and Christopher Lawford. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

British writer Guy Ritchie made his feature directorial debut with this crime-caper comedy-drama set in London's East End and heavy on the Cockney dialogue (with one scene in subtitled Cockney rhyming slang). A big-bucks scheme goes awry: Cardsharp Eddy (Nick Moran) and pals Bacon (Jason Statham), Tom (Jason Flemyng), and Soap (Dexter Fletcher) scuffle to pile up enough money to put Eddy at the card table opposite gangland porn lord Hatchet Harry (P.H. Moriarty). Unfortunately, the whole plan backfires, leaving Eddy owing Harry a huge sum, payable within the week. In truth, Harry hopes to acquire the bar run by his rival, J.D. (Sting), who is Eddy's father. To raise the cash, Eddy sets out to steal from a marijuana business run by Winston (Steven Mackintosh), but the inevitable gunplay doesn't make for an easy heist. World premiere at the 1998 Edinburgh Film Festival (Focus on British Cinema). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

A chase forms the basis of this Hitchcockian comedy thriller from Great Britain. Petty con-man Johnny Ryan makes a scant living playing three-card Monte on the streets of Bath. At the same time, Beatrice Baxter, a drug runner learns that she has a terminal illness and will die in six months. She decides she will go out with a bang and steals two million pounds from her dealers. While hiding out in a posh hotel, she involves herself with Johnny who is on the lam from the cops. Later the girl leaves him and takes off with Jennifer. Beatrice does this so she can set Jennifer up to replace her when the boys from the drug cartel come. But Jennifer is no fool and does a switcheroo of her own. She and Johnny leave Beatrice, whom they think is dead, and hightail it out of town with the police and the crooks in hot pursuit. Mayhem ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

The owner of a British nightclub attempts to do the impossible by coaxing a legendary Irish tenor out of retirement for a once-in-a-lifetime show in this engagingly quirky comedy. The owner, Mickey O'Neill, is particularly desperate to land a performance by the great Josef Locke, as his already questionable reputation was ruined when he booked an impostor claiming to be Locke. Now only providing a show by the real thing can make up for it. Trouble is, Locke fled England several decades before to avoid charges of tax evasion, and would face immediate arrest upon his return. Naturally, the comedy emerges from O'Neill's desperate attempts to convince Locke to participate in the scheme. Much of the film's charm comes from the presentation of eccentric but believable characters, particularly Locke himself -- a real historical figure given warm life by Ned Beatty, who was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe for his performance. The film as a whole manages a similar balancing act between realism and comic fantasy, grounding even the less believable aspect of the narrative in strongly observed local color. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

After the death of his wife and his subsequent descent into alcoholic near-agoraphobia, a crotchety Pakistani intellectual convinces his shady entrepreneur brother to provide work for his son in this multi-layered portrait of the immigrant experience in Great Britain. Young Londoner Omar (Gordon Warnecke) isn't sure what he wants out of life, but his uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey) provides a corrupt, capitalist role model as Omar graduates from washing cars for the old crook to running his run-down laundromat. After a chance meeting with Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an old school chum whose flirtation with fascism deeply wounded Omar's principled Papa (Roshan Seth), Omar hires the young thug to work for him. Soon, the pair begin a romantic relationship that remains as under wraps as the illicit drug-running and enforcement work they perform for Nasser's associate, Salim (Derrick Branche). On the domestic front, Omar must balance his knowledge of Nasser's long-running affair with posh Brit Rachel (Shirley Ann Field) with his own loyalty and attraction to Nasser's westernized daughter, Tania (Rita Wolf). After successfully transforming his laundrette into a vision of resplendent pastel suds and providing a bright spot in his otherwise squalid London neighborhood, Omar seems to have a bright future in Nasser's organization. The spectre of Johnny's past, however, combines with Omar's conflicted immigrant loyalties to threaten the sense of identity the young man has managed to stake out for himself. British-born, half-Pakistani playwright and novelist Hanif Kureishi won an Oscar nomination for his screenplay for My Beautiful Laundrette, which was originally filmed for BBC television. Kureishi collaborated again with director Stephen Frears on Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi